The way it should've been
by mione.jean
Summary: Brandon and Callie. Constructive criticism welcome. Rated M for future chapters. Enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

Callie looked around at the newest family she'd been homed with, all eating dinner at the kitchen table, seemingly unphased by her presence. Was this something that happened often, kids randomly being brought into their home? Callie scooted the food around on her plate with her fork, not very appetized at the moment.

"You doing okay over there?" Lena asked her, and Callie just nodded quietly. Jesus and Mariana, twins, bickered about school things. It had been a while since Callie had been in a stable school. She wouldn't be here long, so she didn't want to get too comfortable and begin feeling hopeful about things. "Hi, love." an unfamiliar voice spoke, causing Callie to look up from the table. A cop? Lena kissed the woman, "This is Stef, Callie." she said.

"So, you're dykes?" she asked bluntly in return, earning many dirty looks from around the kitchen. "They prefer the term people, but yes, they're lesbians." Jesus shot at her. Callie nodded. She felt uncomfortable around police, and figures of authority. Callie watched as Lena pulled Stef into another room, presumably explaining why she was there so suddenly. Her mind drifted to her brother Jude and she frowned in worry. This was not the place she needed to be right now, she needed to go and get him form his abusive foster father. This way nothing more than somewhere she would sleep in between other foster houses. This wasn't even a foster home, and Callie didn't understand at all how she'd ended up here.

"Callie, could you come here please?" Lena called from the living room, and Callie obliged, joining them.

"Sorry. About the dyke comment." Callie said quietly, and Stef and Lena both just smiled understandingly at her.

"It's okay. It just caught you off guard, I'm sure you've already had enough surprises today." Stef responded, patting her hand. "We just wanted you to know that you should feel welcome here. We don't exactly know how long you'll be here, so we wanted to get you some blankets and towels. If you leave your clothes in the after your shower, I'll wash them. I'll leave a pair of Marianas pajamas in the bathroom for you."

Callie half smiled sheepishly, "Thanks." she mumbled, "I think I'll go shower now." she said, getting up from the couch to head to the bathroom.

"Moms?" a boys voice spoke, causing Callie to turn her head. "Who's this?" he asked, his tone not entirely friendly as he scanned her with piercing blue eyes. Callie bit her lip and looked down, waiting for Stef and Lena to explain. "Brandon, this is Callie. She's gonna be staying with us while we sort things out with her caseworker and work on finding her a suitable foster home." Stef said, looking at him sternly.

"Well, nice to meet you." Brandon said, locking eyes with her for only a second.


	2. Chapter 2

Callie stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, taking in her battered appearance. A shower with no time limit would be the best thing she'd felt in a while, especially because of the comfort that emitted from inside the Fosters home. She turned on the water and undressed, climbing in and allowing the hot water to engulf her body. Callie felt felt immediately relaxed and closed her eyes for a few moments before beginning to wash her hair and body. She didn't take too long, not wanting to seem to comfortable in this unfamiliar place; although it was almost impossible not to be. Their family felt incredibly normal and strong, despite the obvious that they weren't all related by blood. Callie put on a girly pair of Marianas pajamas and left the bathroom, heading back downstairs to the couch that she'd be sleeping on.

"Oh, hey." Brandon said to her, and Callie began feeling extremely self concious around him in the ridiculous pajamas that she had on.

"Hey." she replied, sitting down.

"Did you know Lena wants you to start at our school?" he asked, looking at her, admiring the look of vulnerability that she so clearly wore on her face.

"Does she?" Callie asked, laughing slightly, "Why?"

Lena and Stef walked in the room, sitting down too. "We don't want you to feel temporary here. It could take up to a year to find a family looking to adopt, and we want you to have a stable routine while you're here. Is that okay?" Lena asked, "I'm the vice principal at Anchor Beach charter school. It's where all the kids go."

Callie looked at Stef and Lena, and then at Brandon. "Whatever, sure." she responded.

"You can ride with Brandon in the morning, alright? He can take you to the office to get a schedule and then show you around the school a bit." Stef said, standing up to exit the room, "Try to get some rest tonight, love, and we're just upstairs if you need us." she finished, disappearing through the doorway and followed closely behind by Lena. Callie thought about the next day and felt nervousness ensue.

"I'll be upstairs too, if you need me." Brandon said awkwardly as he too, left the room and headed upstairs for bed. Callie was doing her absolute best not to acknowledge that he was good looking, this was a problem she'd run into in a previous foster home and not something she wanted to deal with again, and so she ignored the feeling inside her stomach and laid down, pulling the comforter on the couch over her body.

Callie only finally succeeded in falling asleep after she'd tossed and turned for hours on the couch, thinking about the day ahead of her and attempting not to stress too much about it. It had only been two or three hours by the time the sun else and the rest of the house was stirring as they got ready for their days. "We got you a few things to wear for school." Lena said, snapping Callie back into reality as she was handed a shopping bag.

"Wow, guys," she said bashfully, "You really didn't need to do this... Thank you." Callie responded, trying to muster up a believable smile.

Callie entered the bathroom and shut the door all except for a crack, and pulled her pajama shirt over her head and pulled the pants from her legs. She looked in the mirror for a brief second, believing that she caught a glimpse of Brandon watching her through the ajar door. "Just my imagination." Callie muttered to herself as she finished getting dressed and brushing her teeth, leaving her mess of hair the way it was. Somewhat to her surprise, Brandon was outside the bathroom, waiting for his turn.

"Morning." Brandon greeted as he went in and closed the door behind him, trying to pretend he hasn't previously noticed Callie changing her clothes.

Callie joined the family downstairs and poured herself a cup of coffee, drinking it black instead of adding any cream or sugar. This earned stares from everyone else in the kitchen, but she ignored it and drank on anyway as she waited for Brandon to be ready to head out. After a few minutes had passed, everyone slowly left and Brandon entered the room, car keys in hand.

"Ready?" he asked Callie, and she simply nodded in response as they walked out of the door together and headed off towards the school. It was a good start to the day, being able to stare at Brandon the entire way there.


	3. Chapter 3

Brandon pulled into the parking lot of the school and exited his car, closely followed by Callie.

"You go to school on the beach?" she asked, slightly impressed as she looked out at the ocean. The breeze warmed her cheeks as the waves glistened in the sunlight. Brandon nodded, apparently no longer impressed by this sight. Sure, Callie knew that everything grew to be average eventually; but it was still a beautiful scene.

They walked through the front doors of the school and Callie could feel a hundred pairs of eyes on her. They greeted Brandon and stared at her, her appearance unfit for a school full of students like this. She could only imagine how much her busted lip contributed to their opinions, but she shrugged it off and continued behind Brandon until they reached the office. Callie could see Lena inside.

"I'll wait a second for you," Brandon said, "I can walk you to your first class but you're on your own from there."

"Okay." Callie replied before swinging the heavy door open and crossing through the doorway. Lena smiled brightly at her.

"I printed this up before you got here so that you could be on time to your first class. It's with Timothy, you'll love him. He's a favorite among the kids." Lena spoke. Callie noted in her mind how comforting she was. She could imagine students confiding in her as a principal.

"Thank you." Callie said, taking the piece of paper that beared her locker information and her schedule of classes. She shuffled quickly out of the office and back to Brandon.

The sun shining in from the window illuminated him perfectly there in the hallway, and Callie almost couldn't believe that the image in front of her was reality. She could believe, though, that she'd have the luck to meet such a guy and have him he the only person in the world that was off limits to her.

"I'm with Timothy first." she told him, and he began walking down the hallway at a pace that Callies shorter legs could keep up with.

"Do you have any siblings?" Brandon asked. Callie bit her lip, she was glad nobody has asked this yet. It was a realm of emotions she wasn't ready to deal with, because she hadn't started to figure out an approach towards the situation.

"I have a brother," she stated, she could feel that she couldn't hold in her worry for Jude any longer. "His name is Jude. We've been in all of our foster homes together before now. Last year, we were placed in a home with an abusive foster father. He was beating Jude so badly, I had to take a bat to his car to get him to stop... That's how I ended up in JDC." The words spilled from her mouth uncontrollably. Brandons facial expression softened. Callie imagined that this was bevause she'd relieved his worst assumptions about her. At least she could feel better knowing that she'd fixed one opinion of her.

"Where is he now? In that home, still?" Brandon asked, stopping outside of Timothys classroom.

Callie shook her head in a sad manner as she peeked through the door window. "Yeah." she said, a frown crossing her face, "I don't know what to do." she needed this conversation to be over before the tears could begin.

"You'll figure it out." Brandon said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck with your classes today. Find me after the last bell and I'll take you home." he said, turning swiftly and walking away, leaving Callie to gather herself before entering the room. A few kids still lingered in the hallway, scrambling to their destinations.

Callie entered the room and approached the teachers desk, a dark-skinned man sitting behind it. "I'm Callie. It's my first day." she told him.

Timothy nodded. "No worries, take any empty seat. Just follow along." he told her.

Callie picked a seat and stared forward at the board, doing her best to ignore everyone around her. She wondered how long she'd even be at this school, or with the Fosters, or even in this town. She'd spent such a large duration of her life moving around, why would she stop now? Her life was unlikely to stabilize anytime soon.

She paid the closest attention that she could to her teachers words, but her mind wandered to thoughts of Jude and what he was doing. Her heart ached in her chest, all she wanted in this moment was comfort, and there was nowhere to receive that from.

Before she knew it, the forty minute period had passed and she was in the hallway among the sea of students making their ways elsewhere. Callie stared at her schedule and read what she needed to know, but found that it didn't help her, since she had no sense of direction in such an unfamiliar place. "Are you lost?" a voice asked her. Callie turned to see a boy with longer blonde hair, smiling at her.

"Um, yeah," she chuckled, "It's my first day. I don't know where to go." Callie said

"I can tell. I'm Wyatt. Let me see your schedule." the boy responded in a light manner, taking the paper from her hands and reviewing it. Callie stared at him, observing his facial structure. He had nicely defined cheekbones, in her opinion. "Follow me." Wyatt said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along through the crowd. It didn't take them very longer before they arrived. "This is where I am this period too." he said.

They entered and Callie introduced herself to the teacher, taking another empty seat. The remainder of her day finished exactly the way it had started. Since she wasn't up to date with the ciriculum, her first few days wouldn't have much work in them. The final bell signaled the end of the day and Callie sighed happily, eager to be home, where she could sit quietly and not he forced to fake interaction with strangers. She walked down the hallway on her way to find Brandon, when she heard the tinkling of a piano. She glanced into a passing door, and Brandon sat at a keyboard, playing complex classical music. Callie stood in the doorway, reluctant to interrupt him, and instead just continued to listen. To her dismay, he stopped after just the song he'd me been in the middle of. Probably because he knew the bell had rang.


	4. Chapter 4

"How long have you been standing there?" Brandon asked, pulling Callie out of her daydream.

"Just a second." she answered, feeling her heart flutter in her chest. Even though she was, she didn't want Brandon to know she'd been watching him. "Are you ready to go?" Callie asked him.

Brandon nodded as he began gathering up his things, "Yeah. Let's go." he said, walking out of the door into the hallway, "How did your first day go?"

Callie shrugged, "It was pretty average, but I suppose it could've been worse" she said, laughing a bit.

They walked in silence to the car, and Callie situated herself in the drivers seat as Brandon started the engine and put his seat belt on. He began driving down the road, she looked quietly out the window at the body of water as they passed it. "You look nice today, by the way." Brandon spoke softly, breaking the tension in the vehicle. Callie could feel the redness in her cheeks at these words, and she thanked him sheepishly. Her mind began immediately disecting them. What could he have meant by this? Did he mean it in a friendly way, or in the sense that he was attracted to her? Maybe he was even only saying it to lift her mood. The sound of the words coming from his mouth was sweet, so it didn't hurt. She bit her lip gently as they drove and she felt a weight lift off of her shoulders as they parked in the driveway of the house.

Callie skipped off into the house, met by Stef and Lena sitting at the table in the kitchen. "Hey sweetie, could we talk to you for a moment?" Stef asked, gesturing for her to take a seat too, and she did.

"Er.. We have some... concerns, about you and Brandon. We read your file, and there seems to be evidence of you 'hooking up' with one of your past foster brothers." Lena said, pausing. "We aren't accusing you of anything, we just want to know that you understand the strict rules of messing with Brandon. It's not allowed under any circumstances." she added. Callie knew that they meant well by this, but she could see Brandon eavesdropping from the hallway and it made her cringe. She could only imagine what he was thinking of her. If he'd thought anything positive of her at this point, it was bound to be dimished now.

"Yeah, I understand." she answered, telling herself inside that the vibe she picked up from him would fade. "I was hoping to talk to you guys about something, too," Callie began, receiving nods from them instructing her to continue. "My brother Jude is in an abusive foster home.. I'm sure you saw in my file the reason that I was in lockup. I need your guys help to get him out. I'm worried about him, thus gut is completely ruthless. This is the first time we've been apart since our mom died..." she drifted into a silence, "I can't live my life without him."

"We'd love to help, but I'm just not sure we can afford to bring in another child," Lena frowned, grabbing Stefs hand on the tabletop, "We'll talk about it, and we'll make sure he's removed from his current home no matter what." she finished, placing her hand on Callies head affectionately, as Brandon entered the kitchen and went to the fridge for a drink.

Callie could feel the anxiety in her chest over Brandons thoughts, and she left the kitchen as quickly as she was able to. She went to her makeshift bed in the living room and placed her school things on the table. She didn't have much to do, but the small amount of work she had received would keep her distracted for a few minutes.

She began filling out the study guide for English and her mind was able to focus, finally. Callie saw movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Brandon had come into the room. "Hi." Callie greeted him, doing her best to remain neutral.

"Is that true, what they said about your old foster brother?" he asked, his blue eyes piercing her.

"Oh.." she said sadly, "Yeah. I guess so."

"Is that something you do a lot?" Brandon questioned.

Callie shook her head, "No. He's the only one. He convinced me that it was okay. I was fifteen, and he was nineteen. He knew I was vulnerable, and took advantage of it." she answered. Brandon frowned, and she looked away from his face, unable to keep eye contact. Embarrassment filled her body and yet again, she was blaming herself for getting raped by someone that was supposed to make her feel safe.

"Took advantage?" Brandon asked, sitting down on the couch next to her. Callies heart thumped in her chest, and she stood up.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." she said bluntly, looking anywhere else but at him. "If you're just asking this to be sure I won't try to come after you, you have nothing to worry about it." Callie finished, leaving her work and walking towards the doorway.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off that way. I just wanted to know. Don't leave, I'll go." he said, and the look in his eyes would've won her heart if she'd been looking at him. Brandon knew the rules of foster siblings, and he'd just heard his mom's reinforce these rules to Callie, but he couldn't control the feeling that overtook him every time he saw her. It was especially wrong, since he was in a relationship. Surely, she was just a temptation by being in the house and his feelings would subside soon enough.

Brandon exited the living room and took his guitar to the back yard, leaving Callie to cry for a moment by herself. The subject of Liam brought out a side of her that she refused to show to anyone, but the fact that her temporary guardians and Brandon thought so lowly of her, hurt in a way that she wasn't able to explain. Perhaps her offended feeling stemmed mostly from Brandon.

Callie decided she'd take a shower and went to the bathroom, opening the window before getting in to allow circulation for the steam. When she lifted the window, she could see Brandon and hear the soft hum of his acoustic guitar. She allowed herself a moment of staring while her water heated up, and before she could disappear, Brandon looked up into the open window and they made eye contact. Callie remained where she was, not wanting to be the first one to look away; feeling it'd be too obvious that she'd been watching him for the second time today.

She thought she saw smirk play across Brandons lips as he looked back down to his instrument and the feeling in her heart rised again as she climbed in the shower. Maybe she would make friends with the guy she'd met today, Wyatt, and her attraction to Brandon would faulter. Callie hoped, anyway, since her feelings here would be enrequited under all circumstances.

She allowed the water to engulf her and her bones warmed in only a second. Hot showers were Callies vice because they were comforting, while also providing a place to think in quiet privacy. She wondered for a second it running away from this home would be best for everyone involved. Upon getting out of the shower, Callie could still hear the beautiful chords coming from outside and she decided she'd go down and join him.

Pulling on the same familiar clothes and shaking her hair out, Callie went out the back door and approached Brandon slowly. "How many instruments do you play?" she asked playfully, and he smiled gorgeously back at her.

"Just the guitar and piano," he responded, "Do you play anything?"

"I used to play a little guitar." she answered, and Brandon tried to hand his to her. "No, I wouldn't be any good now, it's been too long." she sputtered out; but he insisted and she took the large guitar in her arms.

Callie waited a moment and gathered her thoughts, and began playing a few strings of the song she remembered best. It was only a second before she messed up, and blush crossed her face, "See, I told you it's been too long." she laughed nervously, and Brandon scooted closer to her on the ground, causing her to breathe differently. He took the guitar and played the same song she had, but correctly, and then placed it back in her arms.

"Try it like that." he whispered softly.

Callie obliged and played the chords the way he had, and smiled as the song sounded correct. Brandon placed a hand on her knee and she continued to look at the guitar, not wanting to make it obvious that his touch sent electricity through her body. When she finished the parts of music that she did know, she handed back the guitar and Brandon removed his hand; a thought of his girlfriend crossing his mind. He could tell that he wouldn't be with Talya much longer. Even aside from Callie changing his feelings, he hadn't been committed to her for a while. He deserved to be with something that filled him with completion, someone who would build him up in the world.

Before he could stop himself, Brandon placed his lips on Callies and put a hand on the back of her neck. Her heart vibrated her rib cage as she felt his kiss and everything in her life melted away for a moment. The wrongness of their actions couldn't break the forcefield that surrounded them, but the interruption they experienced could.

"Brandon?!" a voice exclaimed, one that was unfamiliar to Callie. Brandon jumped away from her and looked up at the girl, who had tears forming in her eyes. This must be his girlfriend, Callie assumed, although she hadn't known that he even had one. She bit her lip at the horrificness of the situation and she left the two to talk. Brandon said nothing, and only looked at Talya.

"Are you even going to try to explain yourself?" she asked, staring at him, but he just looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry." he said sternly, "I never should've done that... But.."

Talya cut him off and took a step closer to him, "But what? There are no buts or exceptions to cheating!" she yelled.

Brandon sighed and sat down at the picnic table, and Talya sat next to him, fuming. "You told me she was just some foster kid that your mom brought home." she said.

"She was." he responded, "But this isn't about her, Talya. This is about us."

"What about us?"

"I don't want to be with you anymore." Brandon answered, met with a look of pain on the girls face, "I just haven't been in love with you for a while."

Callie listened from near the back door, and she felt her heart throb. Why would Brandon kiss her while he had a girlfriend? Even if he intended to leave her, he should've left her first. Or maybe, his kiss had been completely spontaneous and meaningless, just something that he felt right in the moment. She frowned and went back into the kitchen.

"Wanna help me set the table for dinner?" Lena asked her, and she nodded, proceeding to place plates and silverware around the tabletop and they made conversation about Jude, and Callies first day of school at Anchor Beach.

Talya and Brandon stormed through the house and she left through the front door, but not before taking a pause to glare at Callie.

"What's wrong?" Lena asked Brandon after the front door had slammed shut, but he just shrugged.

"Nothing, I just broke up with Talya." he replied.

Clearly shocked by this news, Lena sat down the silverware in her hands and walked over to him, "Why? What happened? I thought you two were doing great." she said in a concerned motherly tone.

Callie tried not to look at him as she put the plates in their places on the table, afraid of what she would feel inside if they made eye contact. "Nothing happened, I just wasn't happy with her anymore. It would be wrong of me to stay just to spare her feelings." Brandon said.

Mariana came into the kitchen and looked at Brandon, "I just saw Talya, she looked really upset."

Brandon let out an ugh sound and left the kitchen, leaving Lena to relay the small bit of information he'd given them.

The rest of the family arrived home and they all sat at the dinner table and ate, making small talk about the events of their day. Brandon had sat next to Callie, but neither of them spoke, and she wondered if his choice of seating was intentional or not.

Everyone went to bed and Callie covered up on the couch, glad to be in the dark. It had been an extremely long day, and it felt good to be alone.

She thought about Jude and decided that tomorrow, she would take a train and go find him at her old foster home. It was risky, but he needed to be here with her. Callie drifted into a deep sleep as she tried to figure out the complications in her life.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Callie took Mariana up on her offer to borrow an outfit. Not being much of a fashionista, she asked her as well to choose for her.

"What about this?" Mariana asked, holding up a simple ensemble of skinny jeans and a fitting long sleeved shirt. It looked perfect for her personality, as it wasn't too feminine.

"Yeah, I think that'll work," Callie said, taking the clothes in her hands, "Thank you." she smiled as she left Marianas room and went to the bathroom to get dressed. As she pushed the door open, she revealed a shirtless Jesus, and closed the door quickly. "Sorry, Jesus." she said, going back into the bedroom, "I'm just going to change here." she told Mariana, proceeding to take off her pajamas and put the clothes on. She looked into the full body mirror and inspected herself, content with what she saw.

"Hey babies," Stef greeted the children as they all joined together in the kitchen. Callie poured herself a cup of coffee, entirely black, and took a long warming sip from the mug. "I'm gonna drive you today, Mariana and Jesus. Mama already left. Brandon, you can drive Callie again, yeah?" she asked. Brandon nodded, and Callie shifted uncomfortably near the counter. They hadn't been alone since his blow up yesterday with Talya, and she wasn't sure how to approach their kiss, or his breakup, or anything that involved the two of them.

Everyone left the house at the same time, and Brandon pulled out after Stef. It was only silent for a moment in the care before he broke the silence. "So... About yesterday," he began, and Callie just stared at him, waiting to see what he had to say, "I shouldn't have kissed you, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're confused enough about everything in your life."

Callie took a deep breath and looked out the window, admiring all the paper houses that lined the streets. After a few seconds of mulling over her response, she decided it best to say nothing. What was there to say? A small breeze flowed through her cracked window. A warm breeze always made Callie feel grounded to the earth, reminding her that she and her problems were so small compared to the extent of the universe. She was a small atom, among a million other ones. There was nothing to be confused about, unlike Brandon had said.

"I'm going to get my brother today." she said to him. The words out loud made the situation seem scarier than they had when she was planning.

"That sounds like a really bad idea, Callie." he replied, glancing at her periodically as he drove, "Why don't you wait for my mom's to get him removed from that foster home?" he questioned.

Callie only shrugged at him, bringing a hand to her temple and resting it there. "I can't. He's not safe, and I can't sleep another night knowing that I'm doing nothing." she finally answered.

"How are you going to get there? Where are you even going?" Brandon asked.

"It's just on the other side of town. 'll take a train." she replied.

Brandon sighed audibly, "I'll drive you. You could get kidnapped, or something, if you take the train and then mom's will blame me for knowingly letting you go." he chuckled a little.

"I'll be fine, thanks though." Callie said, annoyance clear in her voice.

"I just keep saying the wrong thing to you, don't I?" Brandon asked, "Please just let me drive you. What if something happens and you're alone? It's not a big deal."

"Fine." she said softly, as they pulled into the parking lot of school. "Um, have a good day." Callie said to him, as she opened the passengers side door.

"Oh, yeah. You too." Brandon replied awkward, lingering in the car after Callie left and went off to her first class. Brandon sighed and sat back in his seat for a moment. It seemed like a ton of drama came along with Callie, and he felt like he was walking on egg shells every time they spoke. Perhaps, hopefully, she would have a different attitude after getting her brother back; but Brandon couldn't imagine at all how they would literally kidnap Jude successfully. He couldn't even figure out why he was offering to do this for Callie. Something about her brought out a rebellious side of him, that he hadn't even known existed, and Brandon wasn't sure whether this would be a good or bad thing. Grabbing his things, he exited the car, not ready to deal with his now ex-girlfriend or a bombard of questions as to why that was.

Like music to her ears, the final bell of the day rang and Callie wasted no time getting back outside to leave with Brandon. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she imagined the moments where she would rescue Jude. It had been eating at her all day long, and in less than a half hour she'd be there. Brandon stood leaning the car, the sleeves of his button up shirt rolled to his biceps. The sun gave his black hair a bluish sheen. Callies heart skipped a beat and she climbed into the car. "Here, I have the address written down." she said as Brandon got into the car, and handed over the scrap of paper to him.

"What exactly is your plan?" he asked, turning the key in the ignition.

Callie bit her lip as the engine started up and Brandon began backing out of the parking space. "I don't have one, exactly. I suppose I'll just have to figure it out when we get there.." she answered truthfully.

They drove silently until Brandon put a CD into his player. Classical music, naturally. Callie laughed in her head. Although extremely cute, Brandon seemed really bland and square. Maybe he had a bad boy trapped somewhere inside himself, but it was doubtful that he'd ever make an appearance. The house that Callie had despised so much came into view and she pointed at it. "Don't park right out front. Keep driving a little ways, and then stay there and wait for me." she told him.

Brandon did as he was instructed and after Callie had gone a few feet from the car, he got out and followed her, ignoring what she'd said. What sense did it make to let her go alone after he'd already insisted on driving her all the way here? It was such a typical thing for a girl to do, always having to show how independent she is. He stayed behind her until they met at the back door of the house, a full view of the kitchen provided from the window. Callie peered in, able to see Jude washing dishes. She could also see his foster father in the living room, watching TV.

"I told you to wait in the car." Callie whispered. Brandon just shrugged in return. "You should go and distract him at the front door, and I'll try to get Jude." she said.

Brandon tiptoed around to the front of the house and tapped on the door. Callie watched the man go and answer it, and Brandon began his stalling. She couldn't quite hear what he was saying. "Jude..." she whispered through the window, but he didn't seem to hear her, and she repeated herself, again to no avail. She pulled the door open as quietly as she could and approached her little brother, right at the moment that the older man turned around.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?" he exclaimed, talking over Callie as she tried to pleas to him, "You need to get out of this house!"

"Okay look, I'm sorry about your car, I promise," she tried saying, but he wouldn't listen.

"No," he kept repeating, as he grabbed Callie and began shaking her.

"Don't touch her!" Brandon yelled.

"DON'T TOUCH ME." Callie also yelled, pushing him away.

In a matter of seconds, the man had retrieved his gun and began swinging it at Brandon and Callie, telling them to shut up. Jude stood in the kitchen with his hands over his ears.

Everything around them started to move in slow motion. Something in Brandon snapped, something that made him react in a way that he never had. He lunged towards the man instinctively, and time froze as the bang of the gun sounded through the house. Callie took a deep breath as Brandon dropped to the ground, blood beginning to seep through his shirt around his lower right abdomen. Stef and her partner and ex husband Mike busted through the front door, guns raised. Mike called for paramedics through his radio as Stef began to melt down in the living room. Callie dropped to her knees in the puddle of Brandons blood that had formed on the floor and grabbed his hand.

She couldn't pay attention to anything else but him as she watched him fluctuate in consciousness. "I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, not caring whether he was able to hear her or not. The sound of Stefs cries echoed in her ears and Jude cried in the kitchen. Although Mike would've liked to stay with his son, Callie saw him lead the criminal away out of the corner of her eye. The sirens of the ambulance outside flashed through the windows of the house and the EMT's rushed in and began evaluating Brandons vitals before wheeling him out on a stretcher. Stef picked up his car keys from the floor and took Callie and Jude outside. They loaded up in the car and followed close behind the ambulance. Callie didn't have any idea how Stef could be so collected after seeing her child shot, dying on the ground. She wasn't even collected, and Brandon wasn't her son or anyone close to her.

"What were you guys doing there?" Stef asked as clearly as she could through her tears, and Callie just sobbed into her bloody hands for a moment before trying to answer.

"That's the foster home I was in. Where Jude was. He needed me, I had to go to him." she sputtered, realizing she hadn't even spoken to Jude yet in the midst of the chaos. "Are you okay?" Callie asked, looking at him in the back seat. He nodded. He was crying, too. No surprise there, seeing as he was merely a boy of twelve, who had just witnessed possibly the worst thing he ever would.

"I told you I would get him!" Stef yelled, slamming her hand on the steering wheel, "Why couldn't you just wait? Why did you have to bring my son into this?"

Callie hesitated in her anger before answering. Didn't Stef realize how horrible she must already feel, having technically been the cause of this incident? The image of Brandon flooded her mind again and she began crying hard again, "I told him not to come with me. I told him I'd be fine by myself, and he refused to listen, and now this has happened. It's all my fault. What if he dies?" Callie questioned out loud to no one in particular. Jude rested a hand on her shoulder from behind the passengers seat. She'd been with this family for two days and caused the worst thing to yet happen to them. She was a bad omen. Toxic waste flowing through the souls of everyone she'd ever met.

Stef sighed as she cried, but didn't say anything else as they arrived at the hospital. Callie watched them rush Brandon inside, shouting code numbers and things of the sort that she didn't understand. She grabbed Judes hand and led him into the hospital, and Stef stayed behind and called Lena so that she could get the twins and join them while they waited on the doctor to dig the bullet out of Brandon. The three of them sat alone in the waiting room while they waited for the rest of the family.

"I'm so sorry that this happened." she said to Jude, unsure of how he was feeling.

Stef grabbed Callies hand, frowning at the blood on her palms, "I know it's not your fault, but you should've waited. It could've just as easily been you or Jude who took that bullet. Why did the man shoot Brandon?" she asked.

"He tried to get the gun from him," Callie answered. Stef closed her eyes, of course with role models like Mike and herself, Brandon would have a protective tendancy.

Lena and the twins appeared in the room and the family all hugged each other as they cried for their brother and son. The doctor couldn't yet tell them anything, and they still weren't able to stabilize him. Callie exited the waiting room and went outside of the hospital where she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest, tears rolling silently down her cheeks.


End file.
